PMN Canada

HALIFAX — The Canadian Coast Guard has refloated one of its ships after it was cut from its cradle at a Nova Scotia shipyard over a week ago.

The CCGS Corporal McLaren had been partially submerged with 2,600 litres of diesel fuel in its tanks and 400 litres of hydraulic fluid on board after it was allegedly sabotaged in an incident reported to police Nov. 17.

Keith Laidlaw, the Coast Guard’s deputy superintendent for environmental response, says the operation started Monday afternoon and was complete by late evening, after the shipyard and salvage team pumped thousands of litres of water out of its hold.

Laidlaw says raising the vessel occurred without any spills or environmental damage.

A boom was put in place around the vessel at Sambro Head, a coastal community 30 kilometres south of Halifax that is home to fishing vessels and a fish processing plant.

The vessel was discovered on its side in the water after being released from its secured cradle and sliding down a slip at the shipyard.

Halifax Regional Police said the slip had been damaged, and a shipyard employee reported that a cable on the ship’s cradle and an additional safety cable had been cut clean through.

Laidlaw said removing the water has been a slow process, involving 13 to 20 people each day.

“We have quite a few people here, and contractors, and we have a vessel that’s been severely damaged, so this is a costly event,” he said.

“All of this takes time and money.”

The plan was to move the ship to a dock in Sambro by about midnight, where vacuum trucks would start removing any remaining water, fuel and other fluids.

The ship is to be washed down with fresh water in an attempt to remove the salt water that could cause corrosion of mechanical and electrical systems.

“Then we’ll enter in the assessment phase … to see the exact cost of the damage to the vessel,” said Laidlaw.